Biomechanical effects of posterior pedicle fixation techniques on the adjacent segment for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures: a biomechanical analysis

Wei Wang; Baoqing Pei; Yuyang Pei; Zhenpeng Shi; Chao Kong; Xueqing Wu; Nan Wu; Yubo Fan; Shibao Lu

doi:10.1080/10255842.2019.1631286

Biomechanical effects of posterior pedicle fixation techniques on the adjacent segment for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures: a biomechanical analysis

Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 2019 Oct;22(13):1083-1092. doi: 10.1080/10255842.2019.1631286. Epub 2019 Jun 21.

Authors

Wei Wang^{1

2}, Baoqing Pei^{1

2}, Yuyang Pei³, Zhenpeng Shi^{1

2}, Chao Kong⁴, Xueqing Wu^{1

2}, Nan Wu^{1

2}, Yubo Fan^{1

2}, Shibao Lu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University , Beijing , China.
² Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University , Beijing , China.
³ School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University , Nanjing , China.
⁴ Capital Medical University XuanWu Hospital , Beijing , China.

PMID: 31225742
DOI: 10.1080/10255842.2019.1631286

Abstract

Posterior pedicle fixation technique is a common method for treating thoracolumbar burst fractures, but the effect of different fixation techniques on the postoperative spinal mechanical properties has not been clearly defined, especially on adjacent segments. A finite element model of T10-L2 with moderate T12 vertebra burst fracture was constructed to investigate biomechanical behavior of three posterior pedicle screw fixation techniques. Compared with traditional short-segment 4 pedicle screw fixation (TS-4) and intermediate long-segment 6 pedicle screw fixation (IL-6), mono-segment 4 pedicle screw fixation (MS-4) provides a safer surgical selection to prevent the secondary degeneration of adjacent segments in the long-term.

Keywords: Biomechanics; burst fractures; finite element analysis; pedicle screw fixation.

MeSH terms

Adult
Biomechanical Phenomena
Finite Element Analysis
Fracture Fixation, Internal*
Humans
Intervertebral Disc / physiopathology
Lumbar Vertebrae / physiopathology*
Lumbar Vertebrae / surgery*
Male
Pedicle Screws*
Range of Motion, Articular
Reproducibility of Results
Spinal Fractures / physiopathology*
Spinal Fractures / surgery*
Stress, Mechanical
Thoracic Vertebrae / physiopathology*
Thoracic Vertebrae / surgery*
Zygapophyseal Joint / physiopathology